Abstract
In the present study, variability in high-cycle fatigue lives has been studied in AISI 52100 high-strength steel containing TiN inclusions at two heat treatment states. It is found that the spatial orientations of TiN inclusions in the samples are randomly distributed, and have no significant effect on their cracking behavior under cyclic stress. All the examined samples revealed that the fracture planes of TiN inclusion are approximately vertical to the loading axis. Accordingly, a fatigue life prediction model is proposed by taking into account the cracking behaviors of TiN inclusions, ultimately reducing the prediction error of fatigue lives to within 2.5 times of the experimental values. The model demonstrates that the size and shape of TiN inclusions significantly affect fatigue lives of the samples. Specifically, TiN inclusions in samples with longer fatigue life either has a small area perpendicular to the loading direction or is thin parallel to the loading direction. Overall, the comprehensive results regarding the effect of TiN inclusions on fatigue life highlight the strategies to minimize uncertainty in fatigue life predictions for high-strength steels.
Citation
Recommended citation: Z.K. Xu, P. Wang, Y.C.X. Shen, P. Zhang, B. Wang, Z.H. Shao, Z.F. Zhang, Modeling the effect of TiN inclusion on fatigue lives of high-strength steel, Int. J. Fatigue 200 (2025) 109090.